I haven’t cracked an Ultimate book since the original run of Ultimate X-Men ended, and I figured I’d keep it that way. However, some online friends convinced me to give this new version a try, so I picked up issue 20. After all; I’d immersed myself in the Ultimate universe back when the project first started off, so I figured I’d be able to jump on with no problem. Things couldn’t have changed that much, right?

As my opening statement illustrates, the answer is WRONG. This issue starts with a summary of the story thus far: President Captain America has given mutants 2 choices: Either take a mutant “cure” and become normal citizens, or go live on a reservation. As a result, there are now only 20 mutants around, led by Kitty Pryde. There’s trouble brewing in Pryde’s Mutant Utopia, however…

Once I got past the drastic changes that have apparently occurred in the Ultimate Universe (Seriously; what happened?!?), this book was pretty enjoyable. Brian Wood does a great job of giving voice to this cast of young alternate-universe mutants. One panel in particular, which depicts an exchange between Ultimate Hisako (AKA ARMOR) and Ultimate Magma was pleasantly reminiscent of the writing Whedon did on Astonishing X-Men.

Barberi & Vlasco’s art was another pleasant surprise. With Marvel: NOW in full swing, I’d was worried that peripheral books like this would be assigned to less capable artists, but the team on this title can hold their own with the big dogs.

Overall, this was an enjoyable reintroduction to Marvel’s Ultimate line. It looks like there’s been some serious shit going down, and I’m eager to find out more about what it was and what happens next. I’ll be adding this book to my pull list.